Stuffed Chicken Florentine

DESCRIPTION:
Stuffed chicken breast with spinach and goat cheese, served with a mushroom cream sauce. 

Serves: 4-6 people as a main course

Cook Time: 40 Minutes

Special Ingredients or Equipment: Toothpicks

INGREDIENTS:

2 Bunches       Spinach

8 oz                 Goat Cheese

4 Cloves          Garlic  (Minced)

½                     Onion  (Diced)

1 Jar                Whole Pimentos

3 Tbs               Olive Oil

4                     Chicken Breasts  (Skin on)

1 Cup              Flour

2 Cups            White Wine

1 Cup              Chicken stock

6 Tbs               Flour

6 Tbs               Water

½ Cup             Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Box               Mushrooms (Sliced)

1 Tbs               Salt

1 Tbs               Pepper

1 Box               Toothpicks

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prep your chicken breasts by creating a pocket for the stuffing. Insert your knife about a ½ inch below the skin side of the chicken breast. Use the tip of your knife to hollow out a small pocket on the inside, without creating too big of a hole on the outside.
2. Add 1 Tbs of olive oil to a hot pan, followed by the diced onion, fresh spinach, and minced garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent, and the spinach is wilted (approximately 5-7 minutes). Season with a dash of salt and pepper and remove from the heat to cool.
3. Once the spinach mixture is cool, mix in goat cheese and whole pimento strips.
4. Stuff the spinach and goat cheese mixture into the pocket of the chicken breast that you created in Step 1, leaving a little room on the outside to close the opening.
5. Starting from one edge of the pocket opening, use a toothpick or toothpicks to close it all the way across.
6. Once stuffed, season the chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper. Then, coat them evenly in a layer of flour, making sure to shake off any excess.
7. Add 2 Tbs of olive oil to a hot, oven safe, pan. Gently lower in the chicken breasts and sear skin side down, flipping after a few minutes to get a good sear on all sides of the chicken breast.
8. After flipping, tilt the pan slightly so the oil all collects on one side and use a spoon to baste over the top of the chicken breasts, making the outside nice and crispy. Once basted, take the pan of chicken breasts and slide it into a 350-degree oven to finish cooking. The chicken breasts will be done when they show a temperature of 165-degrees (approximately after 10 minutes).
9. While the chicken is in the oven, there is time to make the fruit carpaccio.
10. After the chicken is done, set it aside to rest on a separate plate and return the pan (that the chicken was in) to the stove with all of its drippings for the pan sauce.
11. On medium-high heat, add the mushrooms to the pan and cook them for 7-10 minutes until all of the water cooks out of them.
12. Deglaze the pan with white wine and let it reduce by half. After reducing, add chicken stock.
13. Mix together equal parts flour and water until it’s smooth with no lumps in a separate cup. Pour it into the pan, while whisking to thicken up the sauce.
14. Let the sauce cook for an additional 5 minutes to fully incorporate. Finish it with cream and a dash of salt and pepper.
15. Make sure to remove the toothpicks from the chicken breasts before serving. Serve with the mushroom pan sauce underneath to preserve the crispy skin of the chicken.